Review of They Call Me Mr Tibbs!

Introduction

When Sidney Poitier’s black homicide detective told his redneck nemesisvso memorably in 1967, “They Call me MISTER Tibbs!”, it exploded one of the best films of the 60’s to critical and popular acclaim, and ushered in a new era of politically motivated films. This five-time Oscar winner, which included the Best Picture award, also spawned this sequel featuring Poitier’s idiosyncratic cop.

Virgil Tibbs is still fighting for the cause of justice and against the evils of prejudice in this sequel, but this time back in his hometown of San Francisco. When Reverend Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau) is suspected of being involved in a prostitute’s murder, Tibbs demands control of the case, as he has been a close friend of Sharpe for 20yrs. Despite being the force’s best man, this case will prove to be one of Tibbs’s most difficult as he struggles with his personal bias and against the backdrop of the Reverend’s political campaigns.

Video

The movie is presented in its cinematic release format, in a ratio of 1.85:1. As with many of the MGM back catalogue releases, we are treated to a disc that, although accompanied with no extras, has an great looking picture. The film looks very good for its age, with little print defects and strong colours. In particular dark scenes such as the riots turn up very nicely indeed, with blacks appearing solid and details clear.

Audio

The audio is in its original, pure vanilla mono form, with dubs in various languages also available. Not much else can be said about the soundtrack: this is a largley dialogue-based film and the speech is always at an audible level, so again MGM have done well.

Features

Unfortunately the only extra we are treated to is the mandatory theatrical trailer.

Conclusion

Whilst the original was a very good film, this sequel turns out a little disappointing, as so many films have done when it seems they were only made for the love of box office dollars. Although the acting is taut throughout – especially by the always mesmerising Poitier – the murder plot is too straightforward and even the forays into Tibb’s home life are not enough to prevent this film plodding along at a fairly pedestrian pace whilst looking very dated. This release is another example of a strong back catalogue title that, although having minimal extras, is worthy of replacing old VHS versions due to the great picture on the DVD.